Whether it's Whisky or Whiskey, the goal is enjoyment. Live, Love, Drink!

Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Knob Creek Old 2019 bottle

Tasting Date: 2021-03-27

Region: American Whisky

Type: Bourbon

Age Statement: NAS / 9 years

Size: 750ml

ABV: 50% ABV

Cask Type: New, charred American oak

Distiller: Knob Creek Distilling Company

Location: Happy Hollow Rd, Clermont, KY 40110 Clermont, Kentucky, USA

Bottler: Knob Creek Bottling Plant

Purchase Location: Sobeys Liquor Lakeland 120 590 baseline Rd. Sherwood park, Alberta

Purchase Date: March 13, 2021

Cost: $50.03 including GST & Deposit

Tasting Notes From The Knob Creek Website:

TASTE: Rich, sweet, woody, full-bodied, almost fruity.

Colour: Copper to medium amber.

TransparentSmoke Review: Knob creek was first released in 1992. If you were to find a bottle that old you would notice that it originally had a 9 year age statement. In 2009 they actually had to stop production for a while due to the fact they ran out of 9 year old whiskey. So when the same thing happened again in 2016 they decided to ditch the age statement in September of 2016. They ensured everyone that they would keep making the same flavoured product by mixing older and younger whiskies. In 2019 they announced that the age statement would return sometime in 2020. And.. it’s back on my newest bottle. One visual change I did notice was that the new bottle is missing “Hand-Bottled” in small batches on the label.

My tasting bottle was a 2019 purchase and has been open for over a year. If the new 9 year tastes different I’ll write a review when I open it. This really is my definition of a quintessential bourbon. At 50% APV it holds on to the smell and flavour perfectly. Sweet brown sugar with a hint of cedar on the nose and sweet corn mash and spice on the palate.

Also of note is that Knob Creek isn’t the only thing they make at the Knob Creek Distillery. They also make Booker’s, Baker’s, and Basil Hayden’s. And if that isn’t enough, they are all owned by parent company Jim Beam which got bought out in 2014 to form Beam Suntory Inc of America. Which in turn is owned by Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd which itself is subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. Take a look at this and this and marvel; as it seems Suntory controls half of all the whiskey in the world. Well maybe not the world, maybe just half of my whisky shelf.

Update (May 1st 2021): I opened the new bottle and to the best of my recollection it tastes exactly the same as the old bottle. The new bottle has a date code of L0317CL J which I believe to mean bottled on November 12th 2020.

Our Score: 87/100

Bottles on Hand:

Knob Creek New 2021 bottle with age statement